Bike Week est. 1937

That time of year is finally here! From March 4th-13th, Daytona Beach will host Bike Week 2011. This annual event which hosts motorcycle races, concerts, parties, and street festivals draws crowds of approximately 500,000 people from across the country.

Bike Week started on January 24, 1937 as the Daytona 200 race. This first race was a 3.2 mile beach and pavement course. Ed Kretz from California won, riding an Indian motorcycle with an average speed of 73 mph. The race took a 5 year break from 1942 to 1947 due to World War II. During the years off, an unofficial event called Bike Week was still taking place. Once the official race resumed, it gained in popularity once the late William France Sr., co-founder of NASCAR began promoting it.

Nowadays, Bike Week welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors and is enjoyed by locals and motorcycle enthusiasts world wide. And it’s all happening right here on the Palm Coast!